Is Mr. Beast buying TikTok? Who he is and what we know so far

Jimmy Donaldson, popularly known as “MrBeast,” a Youtuber and one of the richest online content creators, has joined the race for potential buyers of social media platform TikTok backed by Chinese internet company ByteDance.

Bloomberg quoted a spokesperson as saying that MrBeast had held discussions with multiple groups interested in buying TikTok ahead of a possible U.S. ban.

“Jimmy is in ongoing discussions with a number of interested buyers, but he does not have an exclusive agreement with any of them,” Donaldson spokesman Matthew Hiltzik told Bloomberg, adding MrBeast’s role There will be a greater focus on operations rather than finance.

Mr. Beast posts on TikTok

On January 14, MrBeast posted on X that he would “buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”

He later added, “The irony is that since I tweeted, I’ve had so many billionaires contact me to let’s see if we can make it work.”

In addition, he was also mentioned in reports related to an investment group backed by Recruiter.com Ventures founder and CEO Jesse Tinsley seeking to acquire TikTok’s U.S. operations, according to the Associated Press.

However, MrBeast spokesman Matthew Hiltzik said the popular Youtuber has not officially participated in any bids.

“A number of buyers are in ongoing discussions with Jimmy,” Hilczyk told The Associated Press. “He doesn’t have an exclusive agreement with any of them,” he added.

Who is Mr. Beast?

MrBeast has more than 346 million subscribers on YouTube, often posting videos about complex challenges, making him one of the highest-paid content creators in the world.

It was unclear whether Donaldson was involved in the agreement or the total amount of the offer.

With this new development, Donaldson joins a list of several potential buyers of TikTok, which has two months to find a buyer to operate in the United States or face a ban over national security concerns. The platform was briefly banned for nearly a day on January 19.

However, it is unclear whether ByteDance will sell TikTok. Some buyers have publicly expressed interest in purchasing the social media platform, while some have been proposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, who must ultimately approve any sale.

Billionaire Frank McCourt has publicly expressed interest in buying TikTok, while US President Donald Trump has said he would be willing to sell the platform to SpaceX, Tesla Inc boss Elon Elon Musk or Oracle Corp. co-founder Larry Ellison.